There is something about Caribbean food that has got a hold of me. Besides the ocean and the beach I think the food is the thing I look forward to the most when traveling to the Islands (well maybe that and a cold Carib). Everything down there is so fresh and in season and local. One thing we could learn from them is to treat our own local area like an island and source our meals locally but that's another article for another day. About a week after my return from Grenada I was jonesing for something to take me back to here:

Lucky for me I found it here:

The Trini Man Kitchen in downtown London Ontario.

The Trini Man behind this kitchen is Joseph Alexander and he brings the taste of the Caribbean with him to work every day. The G.F. and I strolled in about 40 minutes before closing (Trini Man Kitchen is open till 8 p.m. Monday thru Saturday). Joseph was busy restocking the cooler with soft drinks and kindly stopped his work to sit us and give us some menus.

I opted for the goat roti and the G.F. went for the jerk chicken. Joseph asked us if we wanted some music on and I asked: Soca? Possibly the dumbest question I have ever asked as he replied of course and we were all taken away to the Islands with the sweet vibes. Joseph went off to the kitchen to prepare our meals while we waited and I took a couple pics of his establishment.

I think Joseph works mostly by himself and definitely is a master of the one man show. I think we listened to about two songs and our food was in front of us.

With my first bite it was like I just hopped on a flight and was instantly taken back to the Islands. My roti had bite and was full of spice. Soft, tender potatoes and the goat was the same (watch out, bone-in goat, but hey that's where the flavour comes from). The G.F. was feeling similar about the chicken, rice and slaw. I scam'd a bite of the chicken and it will be what I order my next visit (unless macaroni pies is on the menu http://jayeatz.weebly.com/blog/so-i-was-missing-antigua-and-made-macaroni-pie). The only thing that was missing from the Trini Man Kitchen was a cold Carib Lager, GET ON THAT LIQUOR LICENCE JOSEPH!!
Conclusion: If you have never tried Caribbean food and you live in London go check out the Trini Man Kitchen. If you love Caribbean food go check out the Trini Man Kitchen. And of course lastly, if you're missing the Caribbean food you just had on vacation and need a fix, go see the Trini Man Kitchen. As Joseph says "You don't have to go to the Caribbean the Caribbean will come to you."http://trinimankitchen.ca/index.html